


The Rise of Ben Solo

by reylo_meta_warrior



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, Force Bond (Star Wars), Force Ghost(s), HOW TROS SHOULD HAVE ENDED, Kylo Ren Needs a Hug, Kylo Ren Redemption, Lightsaber Battles, Post The Rise of Skywalker, Post-Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Redeemed Ben Solo, Resistance Member Ben Solo, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Fix-It, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Spoilers, TROS Fix IT, The Rise of Skywalker - Freeform, The Rise of Skywalker Fix it, tros
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-21
Updated: 2019-12-21
Packaged: 2021-02-26 19:00:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21883459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reylo_meta_warrior/pseuds/reylo_meta_warrior
Summary: Rey pummels the wall with the force, debris scattering everywhere.“He turned, and for what? Help me bring him back. Please!”The (ANGSTY FLUFF) Beauty and the Beast / Romeo and Juliet ending we ALL DESERVED.
Relationships: Kylo Ren & Rey, Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey & Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 11
Kudos: 209





	The Rise of Ben Solo

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone!  
> It's been one day since I have seen The Rise of Skywalker, and I can't stop crying. This fic is my attempt to mend the heartbreak! I am working towards five chapters, but there might be more :) We will see how much I can write before school starts on 1/22!

_“Your coming together will be your undoing.”_

Sidious’ face twists with delight as he extracts the life force from their bond. The first thing they feel is pain. It is hot, electric. They wish they could open their eyes. They wanted to see each other, one last —

CRACK. They fall to the floor. 

Are they broken? They are breathing.

 _Rey!_ He only feels her pain. _Are you alive?_ He presses a hand to the floor. Then another. He slides a knee, props himself up. _Rey!_ She is limp on the ground. He moves toward her—

“Ahaha, _my_ _boy_. Such strength in you.” 

Sidious' laugh is menacing, piercing. Where is his mother’s lightsaber? He senses it —

“Your ambition has served you well, but now I have no need of you. Or of her.”

Ben stares into the eyes of Death. “Take my life, it means nothing. But you may not have hers.” 

Sidious sneers, all rotten teeth and dripping skin

“Ha! You are more like your grandfather than you realize. And for that, you must die.”

Ben is thrown by the force. He slides over slick ground until he is not, until he is falling into a pit. _Rey_ . She loves him, he is sure of it. He _felt_ it. Heart swimming, he gathers everything around him: the planet, the lightning, the clones, the sith spawn, he draws the energy toward him and _pushes_ . He slows down, is able to see cropping in the rock. His sends a gust of force into the cavern, flings himself to one side of the trench and _grabs_. 

Eyes closed, he climbs. He senses the footholds, the outcroppings, the grooves and dents, until he feels — _Rey!_ She’s awake? She’s awake! _She’s awake, and she’s alone with him._ His blood pounds, pours into his hands, his fingers, his eyes. Move! He climbs faster, as fast as his broken ribs will let him. He embraces the pain, the anger, lets them crash over him. Sidious _will_ _not_ have her. The dark side comes, embraces him like an old friend, wraps him with power. Together, they climb. 

_Rey, I am coming_ . Can she hear him? She is in pain. Her heart is breaking. So much death.

_Rey, can you hear me? I am coming._

Something in her swells. _Ben! You're alive!_ She sees stars, millions of stars. _The Jedi are here!_

He is almost to the top. Just a few more feet…

Screams. She is screaming. In effort or pain, he cannot tell. 

_What’s happening?_ She can’t hear him, she is a vessel. Above the pit lightning flashes, boulders rain down from the sky. Is she doing this? He lifts a hand to shield himself. _Rey! Are you alright?_

The dark side wanes, taking his strength with him. He hugs the cliff, flattens himself along a ridge. A boulder pummels his leg, sends shocks of pain. Pain. Anger. Fear. He fans it, breathes it in. _Dammit, come back to me._ The darkness returns in a wisp of what it was. _You are no sith, Ben Solo._ It departs. His chest flares, a growl escaping him. Move! His leg is blinding, searing, but he manages to toe it into the next hold. It’s just him now. He is just a man. 

He claws his way up. 

The last few boulders fall down the chaff and the screams wane. _Rey, I’m almost there!_ He can’t feel her, he can’t feel anything but his heart and his leg. So much pain. The top, the top, he is so close, one more step, one more pull...he growls as he heaves himself over the edge. 

She is there, on the floor. Is she dead? _Rey!_ The bond is silent. He can’t walk, but he tries. Everything hurts. Sidious is nowhere to be found. She defeated him. She defeated him! She is more powerful than constellations, than galaxies, than temples. She _is_ a temple. His beam of light.

He must reach her. This damn leg! He crawls, dragging it behind him. 

Finally, his fingers snag the hem of her clothes, the curve of her hip. He lifts her up, but she is lifeless, cold. 

No, no, no...he shakes her, "Wake up! Please... _please_...” 

He weaves his hands through her hair. Her head falls back, limp, exposing her throat. 

“Rey, come on, wake up! I love you. Gods, _I love you_.” 

The words escape him. They are a part of him now, embedded in his blood. How foolish he had been, to want anything but her. He had been so alone, had no one to trust, no one to love. For who could ever learn to love a monster?

Rey. Only Rey.

He knows what he has to do.

He clutches her, burying his face into her shoulder. She smells like the ocean. _I love you. Come back to me, sweetheart. Come back to me._

Can he do this? Can he bring her back? He rests her head in the crook of his shoulder, places his hand on her stomach, and _gives_. The force swells, swirls, fills him with light. He gives her everything. All his power, all his blood, all his life. What is the galaxy without her? It _needs_ her. It needs her purity, her strength. It needs her love. She is the salve, the balm that will heal the force. She will bring balance. She will bring life where there was death, calm where there was chaos, beauty where there was decay.

He feels weak. It is difficult to breathe. _Please_ . He pours himself out, every drop of life he has left. There is so much light, it is pouring into him, out of him, it is all around, so _beautiful_. Yes, he can do this. He can give himself up. 

_Rey_. 

Fingers, on his hand. He glances up. Her eyes are open. Open! She is looking at him, _into_ him. 

“Ben?” 

He squeezes her enough to feel her lungs expand, then he is sobbing. This woman is his _family_. She weaves her hands through his hair and his heart cracks open, relief and exhaustion removing every barrier, every mental shield, every semblance of control. She can see everything. She can see his father, his mother, his fear, his abusers, his love. Her hands move over his shoulders as she presses her face into his chest, letting him in too. He sees every moment she had to hold herself back from him, from the dark side, from giving into what she wanted. He sees how close she was to becoming his empress. He sees her torment, how she barricaded herself from Leia, from Finn, from Poe. She has been alone for so long. 

He releases his hold, brings his hands to her face; kisses the tears on one cheek, then the other. She tastes like salt. His sweeps his thumbs across her skin. 

“Everything I have is yours.”

She grabs him and pulls him to her, a sob escaping her throat. She presses her mouth against his. He lets her in. She tastes like rain, like clouds. She is a goddess. Does she know? He will show her. He wraps her in him. _I will shield you._ She digs her fingers, pulls him closer. Can they be closer than this? 

Suddenly, he is weak. She slips through his arms and cold air rushes between them. Confusion spreads on her brow as he falls to the floor. She grabs his hands and presses them to her chest. 

“Ben!” 

She looks like an angel. 

Is he falling asleep? 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

His skin is white, translucent. Dread spreads through her as she grasps, clings, savors. This cannot be happening. It is not happening. He is not dying, not after this, not after what he has become. _Ben Solo is alive._ He closes his eyes. No! She cannot, she _will not_ stand for this. 

Ben Solo will not die. 

“Help me!” she screams, clutching his hands, frantically looking around the tomb, “I know you’re still here! I can feel you!” 

Ben’s face is still, his force signature but a thread. 

“You are his family. You betrayed him into the hands of Sidious! You gave into your fear! You — argh!” 

She pummels the wall with the force, brings it down. 

“He turned, and for what? Help me bring him back. _Please_!”

Her fists punch the ground, cracking stone. “HELP ME!” 

Silence. The chasm within her grows. 

She lays her body over his, presses her cheek into his neck. “Ben, can you hear me? I’m so sorry. I wish we could go back to the throne room, the night you killed Snoke. I wish I hadn’t grabbed the saber. If only I had explained everything. Luke might still be here, _you_ might still be here. I am so sorry.” 

His force signature is nearly gone. Her chest explodes. 

“Please...please don’t go this way.”

Light beams through the tomb. Before her are Luke, Leia, and a man she doesn’t recognize, bathed in blue. She backs away. They kneel around Ben, illuminating the contours of his face, his chest, his arms. 

“What are you doing? Are you taking him? Don’t take him!”

Luke places a finger to his mouth, motioning for her to be quiet. She clenches her fists. Moments pass, until a pure, white light spreads around Ben, enveloping him. She sucks in a breath. He is so _beautiful_. The light lifts him into the air, swirls around his limp hands, his feet, his legs, until a beam shoots out from his chest and up, up, up, into the stars. He is a symphony of light. She fights the urge to close her eyes, to shield herself, but as quickly as it comes, it begins to fade. 

The mysterious man steps forward. “Together, you will bring balance to the force, as I did.” 

“The force will be with you." Master Leia leans down, places a kiss on her head, "always.” 

“Tell the kid I said hello,” Master Luke winks, his light dimming. 

As soon as they fade, Ben collapses to the floor. Is he breathing? He shifts, arms and back heaving as he hoists himself up. She grabs his waist and helps him stand. He is smiling. He’s _smiling_. He reaches for her face, wipes her tears with his thumbs. She looks up at him, at those dark eyes brimming with light. 

“How did you do it?” he searches her face like he hasn’t seen it in years, like he is trying to memorize every spec of dirt, every bruise, every wound. 

“It wasn't me. It was your family, Ben! Luke, your mother, and I think your grandfather…” 

He lifts an eyebrow. 

“Vader is a force ghost?” 

She smiles. “He looks a lot like you, actually. Especially the hair.” She weaves a finger through one of his strands. He brushes his hands over her forehead, her cheeks, and rests them on her neck. 

“You saved me.” 

She chuckles. “We saved each other.” 

He leans in. Their lips meet and the force _hums_ , swirls around them in sheer delight. He breaks away, searching her eyes. 

“Let’s go find your friends.” 

~~~~~~~

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



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